Big data specialist WANdisco has appointed Stephen Kelly as its interim CEO to sort out the mess caused by fraud allegations.
The Sheffield-based Microsoft partner’s shares were suspended due to allegations of potential fraud by a “senior sales employee”, and co-founder and chief executive David Richards and CFO Erik Miller have stepped down.
WANdisco says Kelly will serve as permanent CEO when the company’s share suspension is over.
Kelly has considerable experience working at start-ups to large organisations in private and public sectors in the USA and Europe.
He has worked at vendor Oracle and was CEO of Chordiant between 2001 and 2005 and MicroFocus between 2006 and 2010.
In the public sector, Kelly was appointed chief operating officer for the Government and Head of the Efficiency and Reform Group in September 2012.
Kelly returned to the private sector in 2014 and served as Sage’s chief executive until 2018.
Kelly will assume overall executive responsibility for WANdisco, with an initial focus on customers, channel partners and alliances, the sales organisation, go-to-market strategy and building the sales pipeline, the firm says.
Kelly said he was a firm believer in the potential of WANdisco’s technology to become a market leader and, there was much work to be done.
“I have relished my previous UK listed turnaround roles and am proud of the successful transformations, profitable growth and value creation they have delivered… we have the opportunity to build a high-quality, global UK growth business delivering for all stakeholders,” he said.
